Effective onboarding is pivotal for customer retention, product adoption, and long-term satisfaction in SaaS. Here are 51 essential stats to help you understand the 2025 landscape of SaaS onboarding and implementation.
The High Stakes of SaaS onboarding
75% of users
abandon a product within the first week if they struggle during onboarding.
Poor onboarding impacts retention, productivity, and revenue. But don’t take our word for it! Here’s why a streamlined, efficient onboarding process is essential to keep customers happy and avoid high churn rates.
Customer Retention and Revenue Impact
Selling to existing customers?
It’s a 60% probability! It’s only 5-20% for new prospects.
Onboarding directly affects a company’s bottom line. It sounds so simple… but satisfied customers are more likely to stay, upgrade, and even refer others, resulting in higher customer lifetime value.
Common Challenges in SaaS Onboarding
From scope creep to rework and the challenges of automation, onboarding obstacles impact timelines, resources, and overall satisfaction. These stats highlight the primary hurdles companies face.
The Role of Customer Success and Onboarding Teams
69% of customer success teams
are responsible for onboarding but often lack the tools needed.
94% of customers
feel developing a powerful onboarding strategy is one of the top responsibilities of an onboarding team.
Customer success teams play a critical role in SaaS onboarding. However, limited tools, team support, and automation are ongoing challenges.
Improving Customer Experience Through Onboarding
80% of users
have uninstalled an app due to their lack of understanding of how to use it.
Only 37.5% of CS professionals
think customers should meet onboarding specialists.
An optimized onboarding experience boosts customer satisfaction, loyalty, and the overall likelihood of renewal. Get it wrong? You’re likely to be counting the cost…
Metrics and Tools That Drive Onboarding Success
84% of companies
that work to improve their customer experience reported an increase in revenue.
Cost of service decrease by 20%
in companies that use customer journey maps and similar tools.
Tracking the right metrics and using customer-focused tools makes a measurable difference. Companies are investing in metrics like Time to Value (TTV) to improve the onboarding journey.
Automation and Personalization: Key to Successful Onboarding
87% of companies
believe that companies should put more effort into delivering a consistent experience.
Up to 498 hours
annually per team member saved on average, by using project management software.
67% of companies
felt follow-ups with internal and external teams were their biggest time sink, leading to inefficiency and time wastage.
90% of people
expressed a willingness to spend more money with companies that provide personalized customer experiences.
74% of potential customers
will switch solutions if the onboarding process is complicated.
Automating onboarding can save time, improve consistency, and allow for personalization at scale—essentials for enhancing user experience.
The Importance of Getting Onboarding right
61% of companies
using project management tools completed projects on time, compared to only 41% not using them.
First impressions really do count! Getting the initial customer engagements right can make all the difference for your organizations, leading to upsell opportunities and even valuable referrals from happy customers.
The State of SaaS Onboarding and Implementation in 2025
SaaS onboarding is no longer just a “nice to have” process but a critical factor that influences retention, revenue, and growth.
While progress has been made, there are still significant opportunities for SaaS companies to refine their onboarding strategies. In 2025, optimizing onboarding through automation, customer success involvement, and a focus on key metrics can help SaaS providers deliver more value and keep customers longer.
- SaaS Market Value Growth: By the end of 2024, the SaaS market is set to reach $317.55 billion, with projections indicating growth to over $1 trillion by 2032. This trend underscores the industry’s expanding role across business sectors worldwide (Vena).
- Productivity and Automation: Approximately 52% of SaaS buyers now prioritize solutions that enhance productivity. Furthermore, 90% of IT professionals believe that automation is crucial to managing SaaS (Vena).
- Retention via Value-Based Pricing: As many as 68% of SaaS providers are adjusting their pricing to meet retention goals (DemandSage).
- Churn Rates and Retention Pressure: The average churn rate for SaaS companies is around 5–7%, although an optimal rate is closer to 3%, underscoring the growing need for robust onboarding and retention strategies in a highly competitive SaaS landscape (DemandSage).
Cloud Coach
Cloud Coach simplifies post-sales operations by unifying onboarding, professional services, and customer success into a single, Salesforce-native platform. Our solution empowers teams to deliver consistent, high-quality customer experiences, breaking down operational barriers to foster seamless collaboration and efficiency. At Cloud Coach, we enable businesses to onboard, service, and succeed—all from one platform.